On this day 57 years ago, heads of governments in Africa and other leaders met to establish the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), at Addis Ababa, in today’s Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. At the inspiration of Muammar Gaddafi, the OAU transformed to the African Union (AU) at a historic meeting convened by African leaders which held on 9 July 2002 in Durban, Republic of South Africa.

 The AU was first pronounced in a declaration at Sirte, Libya on 9 September 1999 by Gaddafi, who called on African leaders to form the Union. Gaddafi’s call was heeded as the continental union came into being on 26 May 2001 and launched at Durban in July 2002. Now, made up of 55 African countries, the AU’s critical organs are the Assembly of the African Union, the African Union Commission, and the Pan-African Parliament.

The AU, like its forerunner, OAU, was set up to ensure African unity, defence of the Continent’s territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of member-states, promote political and socioeconomic integration, have a common position on issues affecting the continent, ensure peace and security.

Africa is noted as the point the human specie emanated and the centre of first human civilisation. Regrettably, its story has been marked by terrible reversals in all spheres. While Cheikh Anto Diop and his kind have captured the wonders of Africa’s past, Kingsley Moghalu in an uncommon blueprint, “EMERGING AFRICA: How the Global Economy’s ‘Last Frontier’ Can Prosper and Matter”, speaks to the potential for the future greatness of the Continent.

In between, the challenges of the Continent have also been bemoaned and captured quite poignantly by its other illustrious sons and daughters here on the continent and in the diaspora. Walter Rodney, Samir Amin, Claude Ake, George Ayittey, Jean-Francois Bayart, and the scholar-activist and itinerant public intellectual, Prof. PLO Lumumba and countless others grippingly captured how Africa was betrayed from within and from outside.

10 Things to Know About Africa Day

Inspired by Ghana’s Independence

The end of World War II saw exceeding efforts from Africans over the process of decolonisation of the African continent for more political rights and independence from colonial rule; thus, between 1945 and 1965, a significant number of African countries gained independence from European colonial powers, with Ghana becoming the first African country in the South of the Sahara gaining its independence on March 6, 1957, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah. Ghana’s independence, therein, served as an inspiration to other African countries fighting against colonial rule, and Ghana played a central role in this objective.

A year after its independence, Ghana convened the first Conference of Independent African States on April 15, 1958. African countries in attendance included Ethiopia, Libya, Sudan, Liberia, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco amongst others, with representatives of the National Liberation Front of Algeria and the Union of Cameroonian Peoples. The conference was a collective platform of the explicit assertion of Africa’s rejection of colonial and imperialist domination of the continent, becoming the first Pan-African liberation conference to be held on the continent, bringing together various African countries.  Further, at the meeting, the first African Freedom Day was celebrated, which was later recognised as Africa Day.

“May This Convention of Union Last 1000 Years”

Five years later on May 25, 1963, following the sentiments of the conference held in Ghana, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was formed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, hosted by Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie.  The OAU was formed in a meeting seating over thirty African nations with the aim to influence the decolonization of African countries including Angola, South Africa, Mozambique, and Southern Rhodesia.  The organisation covenanted to support freedom fighters and remove military access to colonial nations, and a charter was established to improve the livelihood of member states across Africa, where Selassie pledged, “May this convention of union last 1,000 years.”

Common African Unity and Identity

The first Conference of Independent African States convened on April 15, 1958, in Ghana and further encouraged and stamped a common African identity of unity and fighting against colonialism. The conference further called for the observance of African Freedom Day once a year to mark, “The onward progress of the liberation movement, and to symbolise the determination of the People of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation.”

April 15th was therein enacted as African Freedom Day or Africa Liberation Day, and countries all over the continent celebrate and mark the commemoration each year, with South Africa celebrating its Freedom Day on April 27th of each year.  At the formation of the OAU (Organisation of African Unity) on May 25, 1963, this marked the beginning of what would later be known as Africa Day.

Succeeding to the April conference, the All Africa People’s Conference (AAPC) was held on December 8th through 13th, 1958, in Accra, Ghana. The AAPC was attended by both independent and the then non-independent countries, including representatives of liberation movements.

South Africa’s Rise in African Union

From South Africa, the liberation party against Apartheid Rule, the African National Congress (ANC) could not formally attend the first Conference of Independent African States in Ghana as it was prevented by the ruling apartheid government.  However, a memorandum was sent to the conference.  On behalf of the party, was a member of the ANC in the Transvaal and a 1956 Treason Trialist, Alfred Hutchinson, who left the country after his acquittal, and attended the AAPC (All African People’s Conference), which was held a few months later.

South Africa only became part of the Organisation of the African Union (OAU) in 1994 following the end of Apartheid rule, where 21 more member states had joined the OAU since its foundation in 1963.  Thirty-eight years after its formation, the OAU evolved into the African Union (AU) on May 25, 2001, where South Africa paved the way as a founding member. Although the organisation of the AU remains headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, its legislative arm, the Pan-African Parliament, is situated in Midrand, South Africa.

The Developments of the African Union

At the African Union’s 50th Anniversary celebrated in 2013, AU Commission Chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the first woman chair of the AU Commission (the AU’s administrative arm), spearheaded the launch of Agenda 2063, a long-term vision of where Africa should be in 50 years, great developments were seen.  Themes are often set for each year’s Africa Day commemoration, with the most notable theme being 2015’s being the “Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063″.

This theme was to hoist and inspire the role of women in the leadership and policy-making of the African Union and in their work on Africa Day.  At an event in New York City, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Jan Eliasson, delivered a message from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, stating, “Let us…intensify our efforts to provide Africa’s women with better access to education, work and healthcare and, by doing so, accelerate Africa’s transformation.”

Women Empowerment in the African Union

Upon welcoming the sitting of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as the first woman chair of the UA Commission, many argued that the continent was not ready for a woman to take that position.  However, Dlamini-Zuma has managed leaps in her tenure and has cracked the assumption that women are incapable of being involved in the continental organisation. 

The African Union strategy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) 2018-2028 which was launched during the AU Summit February 2019 is based on an inclusive and multisectoral approach and builds on the lessons learned from the 2009 gender policy. It is transformational in that its outcomes aim to mitigate, if not eliminate the major constraints hindering gender equality and women’s empowerment, so that women and girls may participate fully in economic activities, political affairs and social endeavours.

The GEWE Strategy is a framework document to strengthen women’s agency in Africa and ensure that women’s voices are amplified and their concerns are fully addressed through, among others, effective implementation of legislation and proper financing of gender equality work. It is a guiding document on the implementation of the AU’s GEWE commitments and is to be used to design transformational programmes that bring results for African women and girls on the continent and in the diaspora.

Continent-wide Disease Control and Prevention

January of 2017 marked the launch of Africa’s continent-wide public health agency, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), which was established to help African member states of the African Union to respond to public health emergencies. The African Union Assembly of Heads of State authorised an annual contribution from the overall African Union operating budget for 2016 to safeguard Africa’s health, seeing the importance of public as an impactful element on national, social and economic development.

The need for an Africa CDC is to safeguard the required support to African countries in their monitoring and response methodologies to public health threats as was recognised by the African Union in 2013 and formalised in 2015.  President Alpha Conde of Guinea, one of the  Ebola-affected states between 2013 and 2015, attended the launch ceremony in his capacity as the Chairperson of the African Union, accompanied by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, along with other senior officials of the Commission. As an African-owned institution, the Africa CDC is distinctively positioned to help protect the health of the continent.

This follows the meeting of the African Union Ministers of Health in Malabo, where the Statute of the Africa CDC was adopted in July 2015 and urged for its fast implementation.   Five Regional Collaborating Centres that will work with the African CDC Coordinating Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, have been selected. An Emergency Operations Center has also been set up at the Addis Ababa Headquarters, where 10 highly qualified epidemiologists are ready to monitor for disease threats across the continent. The epidemiologists will be responsible for disease surveillance, analysis, investigations, and reporting trends and anomalies from the continent, and all information on the surveyed public health threats will be shared with international networks.

Africa Day as a Public Holiday

Africa Day continues to be celebrated both in Africa and around the world, mostly on May 25th since the sitting of the first conference in 1963.  Some parts of the continent and throughout the world enjoy longer periods of celebrations stretched over a number of days or weeks, depending on the programme at hand.

For Africans on the continent and part of the diaspora, Africa Day is a day when many different cultures of people from all African backgrounds come together to celebrate the diversity of Africa, the organisation of the African Union in its objectives for a decolonised African state.  Although it looks to celebrate how far Africa has come, it is also a day to reflect on how far Africa still has to go in building a unified and decolonised continent.

African countries including Ghana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Zambia, Mali, and Zambia recognise Africa Day as a public holiday.  Other countries have celebrations to mark the historical day, while international cities, such as New York, Dublin, Melbourne, London, and Washington engage in academic gatherings and cultural showcases to mark the day.

Africa Day Celebrations

The theme for 2020 Africa Day commemoration is “ SilencingTheGuns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development and Intensifying the Fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Given the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, most celebrations for Africa Day will be virtual owing to social distancing measures and national lockdowns which have been enforced in numerous African countries.

Perhaps one of the biggest events set to take place is the Africa Day Benefit Concert At Home, which will be hosted by Idris Elba. The concert, which will feature artists such as Angelique Kidjo, Sauti Sol, Burna Boy, AKA and many others, is set to be streamed on MTV Base platforms with the aim of raising funds to help in the continued fight against COVID-19 in Africa.

Member states across the continent emphasized the founding objectives to the formation of the African Union, and remembering the efforts of the member states in their lived fight for freedom and unity.  Each year, a number of different initiatives, celebrations and commemorations are being enacted all over Africa and the rest of the world, marking the relevance of Africa Day in our lives today.

SilencingTheGuns– Africa Day Theme 2020

Africa Day in May 25th 2020 will be celebrated across the continent. The month is an opportunity to promote African unity, deeper regional integration and recommit Africa to a common destiny.
Planned activities over the month will culminate with Africa Day celebrations on 25 May 2019. The annual commemoration of Africa Day marks the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963.

This year’s celebrations will happen virtually and online due to the massive impact of COVID-19 on the continent and the world under the theme: SilencingTheGuns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development and Intensifying the Fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic.

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